Gutter Balls

Yesterday afternoon, before my trip to visit General Mayhem at Camp Sweaty Scout, I made my quarterly trip to the roof to clean out the gutters. There’s always something in my gutters, from our maple tree’s “helicopters” in the spring to leaves in the fall, and snow and ice in the winter. The gutters around the northeast corner of my house constantly clog, back-up, and spill over the edge. They have for five years, no matter how many times I cleaned them. Yesterday, I think I discovered the source of the backup. I completely dismantled the downspout. When I did, I discovered this

Recognize it?

It used to look like this

I have no idea how long this ball was lodged in the downspout of my gutters, but it was deep down the shaft. Water could get past it, but debris was trapped behind it. By locating it I may have ended the Hoover Dam of guttering.

The southwest corner of my house was a different story entirely. It’s never been a problem, so I was surprised that I found this

sticking out of the downspout. Apparently the biggest source of summer time gutter clogs is my children and their play toys.

The trip to Camp Sweaty Scout was pleasant. When I arrived everyone was in a good mood. General Mayhem seemed genuinely happy to see me. He spoke to me more last night at a scouting event than he has in the past 2 ½ years. Sorry Teachermommy. I threw in another fraction there. I listened to him enthusiastically explain the highlights of the week’s events, and watched as he ran off to join his troop in preparation for the family night skits. As I watched him run off I was struck at his physical size. His shoulders are getting broad. He’s gaining bulk. The skinny, pre-pubescent boy is almost gone, replaced by a growing man’s body housing a genuine, playful, kid at heart. It’s fun to watch.